Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to energy conversion devices and, more particularly, to systems for converting energy from the wave patterns of a body of water into electrical energy.
Description of Related Art
Significant effort has been expended on developing technologies able to utilize the earth's tremendous power. For centuries, devices such as windmills, watermills, hydro-turbines, geo-thermal heat generators, and solar energy panels have been developed and refined to capture and convert the earth's energy into electrical energy. However, even though over 70% of the earth's surface is covered by oceans, very little innovation has been developed capable of efficiently harnessing this vast power. It is estimated that ocean waves are capable of generating an energy flux between 10 kW and 80 kW per meter of coastline. Most importantly, this energy is generated on a nearly continuous basis, with little to no interruption as compared to solar or wind powered solutions. Accordingly, a need for an efficient, scalable, and cost efficient system for harnessing the power of the ocean's waves is needed.